Meet the Caring Stairway Recovery Center Founders, Directors and Staff

Meet the Recovery Team!

When you’ve been struggling with addiction, it is vital that you receive the proper care.

The staff at Stairway Recovery Center is dedicated to providing individualized treatment and know that everyone has a different story with different needs. Some patients need medication management, others require intensive therapy, while still others require outpatient services. Whatever you need, our team is here to help you find your way.

Meet Our Founders and Directors

Michael Lynch

Co-Founder and C.O.O., Program Director
Travis Grant

Co-Founder and C.C.O.
Kenneth Gailey, LMFT, CATC-IV

Clinical Director
Jessi Brown

Admissions Director
Kristina Oppenheim, RN

Chief Nursing Officer
Tyson Sullivan

Director of Business Development

Meet Our Doctors and Psychiatrists

Michael D. Stone, MD

Medical Director
Kristen Nelson, MD

Adult Psychiatrist

Meet Our Therapists

Dave Campbell, LMFT

Therapist
Tamara Catalano, AMFT, MA, M. Ed.

Therapist
Shirin Fouladi Ruf, LMFT

Therapist
Max Bird-Ridnell, LMFT

Therapist
Rosa Blasi, LMFT

Therapist
Cristina Bonilla, LCSW

Therapist

Meet Our Case Managers

Bruno Burghard, CADC II

Relapse Prevention Specialist
Jon Reece

Psychiatric Technician
Raymond Sipos

TMS Technician
Colin Keene

Brain Paint Technician

Ready to Get Started on Your Journey to Long-Term Recovery?

Learn More About Our Admissions Process or Call Now to Speak With a Treatment Expert

Our Substance Use and Mental Health Disorder Blog.

As a community based treatment center, it’s important to us that we share helpful resources and expert content created for those who are seeking treatment or already in recovery.

Our goal is to educate and support anyone who needs help.

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Accreditations

Joint Commission Accredited

Certified by Department of Health Care Services

Medical Disclaimer: Nothing on this Website is intended to be taken in place of medical advice. Before making any decisions regarding your health, please consult your doctor. The staff at Stairway Resource Center develops a custom treatment plan for each of our patients. Specific medical advice will be provided to our patients by our professional providers while in our care.

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Michael Lynch

Co-Founder and C.O.O., Program Director

Michael is an avid and successful entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience in various industries including; entertainment, production, retail consumer goods, and transitional residential programs and multi-unit housing facilities.

He is highly driven by his commitment and passion to help others who are in need of recovery and has been helping people to achieve their goals for several years with tremendous success. His reputation is well known within the treatment community and amongst people who actively are working on their recovery and want to live a sober life.

Michael oversees the daily operations of Stairway Recovery Homes, the partner of Stairway Resource Center, which is located in Southern California. Stairway Recovery has nine residential homes and houses over 100 people in the sober community. Not only do the people in the Stairway Recovery community stay sober, but they are also able to create new meaningful relationships and lives that they never thought possible.

Michael’s vision has become a reality, manifested by the rebuilt lives and realized dreams of the people he serves.

Travis Grant

Co-Founder and C.C.O.

As an experienced business leader and Co-Founder, Travis leveraged his leadership skills and personal family experience with addiction to inspire and create an innovative and patient-first culture at Stairway Resource Center.

Travis oversees the facilities’ Performance Improvement process, which ensures that SRC holds itself to the highest standards so that our clients receive the best quality of care. Additionally, he ensures compliance with all federal and state regulations, licensure, and Joint Commission Accreditation.

Travis is passionate about his work because it provides the opportunity to assist those with similar experiences to his. The virulent problem of addiction is very personal for Travis. He saw first-hand the tragic consequences of addiction in his own family as a young boy, and from that experience made a commitment to someday help others battle this devastating disease.

Travis and his wife, Elyssa, are longtime residents of Southern California. They split their time between their homes in Woodland Hills and Mammoth Lakes.

Kenneth Gailey, LMFT, CATC-IV

Clinical Director

Ken has been in the field of treatment since 2000. Ken began his career at Impact House in Pasadena, California as an Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Ken recognized the need to gain education and experience to help those in the recovery process and completed a certificate program in Alcohol and Drug Studies.

As a result, he was certified as a Substance Abuse Counselor by the California Association of Alcohol and Drug Educators. He continued his education and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services Management and a Master’s degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Ken is licensed with the California Board of Behavioral Sciences as a Marriage and Family Therapist. He is also certified as a Master’s level addiction counselor with the Addiction Counselor Certification Board of California.

Throughout Ken’s career path in treatment, he has worked in various assignments, including special populations with Los Angeles Drug Court, HIV/AIDS, Dual Diagnosis, and San Bernardino Mental Health Court.

Ken was employed as a Program Manager for a San Diego County Contract Agency overseeing the Forensic ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) and Homeless ACT programs prior to accepting the position with Kaiser Permanente.

Ken was employed with Kaiser Permanente since 2015 as a Clinical Case Manager specializing in Chronic Severe Mental Illness and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Ken was promoted in 2017 to Clinical Program Manager II with Kaiser San Bernardino County Mental Health. Ken’s commitment to serving the addiction and mental health community facilitated transitioning to Stairway Resource Center as the Clinical Director.

Ken provides oversight of the clinicians who are facilitating therapeutic services to the clients of Stairway.

Jessi Brown

Admissions Director

Jessi Brown, Senior Director of Admission and Client Experience, is more than just a member of the Stairways Resource Center team, she is an example of what this community can achieve and an example to all of our clients, especially the women.

Jessi has been working in the field of recovery since 2007 and joined this team as manager of the first female sober living at Stairway Recovery Homes and went on to design and implement the woman’s program at SRC. She continues to take on additional responsibilities within operations, to ensure our clients are receiving the highest level of support possible, but more importantly, Jessi continues to inspire and change the lives of young women, who can relate to her experiences, each and everyday.

Kristina Oppenheim, RN

Chief Nursing Officer

As the Chief Nursing Officer, Kristina Oppenheim, RN is responsible for the clinical functioning of our medical staff, the standardization of medical services, the improvement of patient outcomes and the protection of patient safety. But, her actions extend well beyond her job description, and into the hearts of patients and employees across the organization. Ultimately, Kristina is a champion for excellence in health care and the embodiment of our mission to treat substance use and co-occurring disorders with kindness, grace and compassion.

As the head and heart of our nursing staff, her compassionate, dedicated leadership is her trademark and her patient advocacy represents her broader legacy at Stairway Resource Center.
Active in her own personal recovery, Kristina is passionate about working with addicts. Kristina joined SRC in 2021 and has been and she has been dedicated to providing hope and healing for all.

Tyson Sullivan

Director of Business Development

Tyson has worked in the treatment field since 2015 he has influenced a culture shift for individuals struggling with Substance Use Disorders and seemingly hopeless circumstances in his community.

Through his professional life as a licensed interventionist and serving the recovery community with a large fellowship of resources Tyson is literally in the business of saving lives. Recovery also lives and breathes in his personal life, he has an altruistic spirit wrapped around a grateful heart. Tyson enjoys surfing, raising his children (Seamus and Liv), volunteering at Charle Street in Costa Mesa, and leading by example for his two younger brothers and Family. Tyson uses critical thinking, unconditional positive regard, and years of experience as an addict himself to help alcoholics and addicts find a better quality of life.

Tyson has seven years clean and sober and claims to be living in the “fourth dimension”. Allegedly that is where you dwell when you have been “delivered from a hopeless state of mind and body”. Tyson lets his actions speak for who he is.

He serves as a board of director for Yellowstone Recovery in Costa Mesa as well as a board of director for The Nowell Family Foundation helping musicians struggling with addiction

Michael D. Stone, MD

Medical Director

Michael D. Stone, MD has been in practice for over 30 years. He graduated from Medical School in 1986 and attended LA County/USC Medical Center Residency in the field of Emergency Medicine. He is a practicing E.R. doctor at 2 hospitals in the Southern California area. Dr. Stone also has a Specialty in Chemical Dependency and Addiction Medicine for 22 years. He is the Medical Director of numerous Residential and Outpatient Facilities in the Los Angeles area. Dr. Stone’s interests outside of medicine include a commercial pilot, all outdoor activities including skiing, fishing and boating.

Kristen Nelson, MD

Adult Psychiatrist

Kristen Nelson, MD is double board certified in General Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. She completed her psychiatry residency at Eastern Virginia Medical School and pursued an addiction psychiatry fellowship with UCLA. She has extensive training at Veteran Administration hospitals. Areas of expertise are post-traumatic stress disorder, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, and psychopharmacology.

Dr. Nelson has worked in a variety of settings including inpatient facilities, outpatient clinics, emergency rooms, residential, and sober living facilities. Her approach to patient care is to deliver compassion, engage in active listening, to build trust, and to encourage her patients to participate in their own treatment planning. She strongly abides by the biopsychosocial model when evaluating and treating the mentally ill. In addition to working at Stairway Resource Center, Dr. Nelson is a staff physician for the psychiatric consult liaison service at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, she has an outpatient practice, and is a certified Qualified Medical Evaluator.

Dave Campbell, LMFT

Therapist

A former professional and one-time World Champion athlete, David hurt his back in competition and subsequently developed an addiction to his prescribed pain medication. After completing his own stay in treatment, David discovered both meaning and purpose in helping others find recovery and walked away from a prestigious J.D./M.B.A program to focus on psychology full-time. After completing his Master’s in Psychology, he began pursuing his Doctor of Social Work degree from The University of Southern California.

David is presently a Doctor of Social Work Candidate, where he has spent years researching the most advanced substance abuse related treatment service delivery systems and best practices to maximize successful treatment outcomes and to minimize barriers to care access.

Tamara Catalano, AMFT, MA, M. Ed.

Therapist

Recovery is Tamara’s life passion. She holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage and Family. Since it’s very common for those struggling with addiction to have a dual diagnosis, the Comprehensive Resource Model is Tamara’s preferred approach for those with complex trauma. Tamara’s 20 years of experience as a school teacher, opened her eyes and heart to treating chemical dependence and mental health.

Shirin Fouladi Ruf, LMFT

Therapist

Shirin’s passion is to provide service and healing to others and communities. Shirin is privileged to help others who are struggling as they discover and heal wounds of the past. Shirin is a huge advocate of psychotherapy and 12-step programs.

Shirin values the words of Carl Jung: “You can only take a client as far as you’ve gone yourself.” Shirin values the wisdom her personal journey has granted as she continues to cherish each day at a time. Ruf takes great pride in her work and is fully committed to helping others.

Max Bird-Ridnell, LMFT

Therapist

Max received his Masters in Counseling Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, where he concentrated on Jungian Depth Psychology. His thesis explored the validity of Interactional Group Therapy with addicted populations, incorporating research from neurobiology, attachment theory, Heinz Kohut’s Self Psychology, as well as the literature and history of Alcoholics Anonymous. He is currently training in Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy, under Dr. Allan Abbass. He is sometimes recognized for playing Milos in the CW’s Jane The Virgin, as well as for opening the batting at Pickwick Cricket Club.

Rosa Blasi, LMFT

Therapist

Rosa graduated with a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in ‘Addiction & Recovery’ from Antioch University, which was one of the first in the country to offer this specialization. Since 2018, she has had the pleasure of working at several dual diagnosis outpatient treatment centers for people struggling with mental health and/or addiction.

Rosa is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in private practice, teaching groups (and with individual clients) at Stairway Resource Center, as well as pro-bono work with Miriam’s House, a non-profit residential sober living home where women can live with their children while in recovery.

Cristina Bonilla, LCSW

Therapist

Cristina is a bilingual clinical social worker with over 10 years experience working in the field of mental health and addiction, both in the non profit and private sectors. Cristina received a diploma as a certified substance abuse counselor before returning to school to receive a Masters Degree in Social work at USC. Cristina uses a client-centered trauma focused approach in her treatment modalities, blending evidenced based practices such as CBT and EMDR to create an individualized treatment plan to support each client’s unique needs.

Cristina spent several years serving the dually diagnosed homeless populations by working with homeowners to create sustainable housing models for our Los Angeles county homeless. Recent work in the non-profit sector with the hispanic LQBTQ-IA+ community and children and families has afforded the opportunity to hone a trauma focused clinical practice, where she developed a penchant for addressing intergenerational trauma. She has worked at every level of substance abuse treatment from residential facilities, intensive outpatient programs, and as a sober living manager.

Bruno Burghard, CADC II

Relapse Prevention Specialist

Bruno Burghard is a Case Manager, NAMA Anger Management and Relapse Prevention Specialist at Stairway Resource Center with 22 years of giving back to the community, one newcomer at a time.

Jon Reece

Psychiatric Technician

Jon began his journey working in substance abuse treatment in 2019. He has experience working with co-occurring disorders, anger management, and depressive disorders. He is active in his own recovery, passionate about his position, and is able to serve as a brand ambassador to Stairway Resource Center. As a psychiatric technician he is committed to helping others seek treatment and getting the appropriate care they deserve.

In 2021, Jon was certified in the delivery of TMS. Due to his varied experience working in mental health, Jon finds TMS exciting due to the possibility of offering real hope to individuals for whom many other treatments failed to produce a genuine change in their internal experience of depression. An avid learner, Jon is currently studying to become a CDAC.

Raymond Sipos

TMS Technician

Raymond has been working in the addiction and behavioral health field for the past 5 years. A member of a 12 step program, Raymond has been clean and sober for over 7 years. With a special interest in medication resistant depressive disorders, Ray returned to school and obtained his certification in Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Through his work with patients, Raymond has found that he is at his best when he is helping others connect with mental health resources and he is excited to help more patients find TMS.

In his free time, Raymond enjoys travel, theatrical events, and exploring Southern California.

Colin Keene

Brain Paint Technician

Colin is a seasoned mental health technician with 10 years experience in a variety of clinical settings specializing in addiction. Aside from working with the dually diagnosed population, Colin himself is in recovery and has been clean/sober for 14 years. Over the past decade, Colin has demonstrated a track record of successfully working with diverse patient types in one-on-one and group settings.

Colin has worked with children, adolescents and adults, but now solely focuses on the adult population. Colin is a seasoned mental health technician with 10 years experience in a variety of clinical settings specializing in addiction. Colin is trained in Neurofeedback and provides a customized treatment protocol tailored to each patient’s individual needs. Colin uses Neurofeedback to directly retrain the function of the brain. This is a gradual learning process but can assist with a wide variety of conditions, most commonly depression, anxiety and OCD.